Carlsbad Council Approves Quarry Creek Development

The controversial Quarry Creek development will add hundreds of new homes to Carlsbad to meet state mandated housing goals.

By Katie Schoolov

The site of the Quarry Creek development in Carlsbad. It is beside Highway 78, yet still retains its rural character. It is the site of early settlers in the region, including a Mexican land grant. February, 2013

The Quarry Creek development next to Highway 78 will add 650 homes to Carlsbad’s housing stock. In the face of a public outcry about developing an historic area of open space, the Planning Commission had recommended building 600 homes and preserving an area known as 'the panhandle."

But the city council compromised by allowing McMillin Companies, developer of the project, to build all the houses in the plan as long as it added a small patch of land near the historic “Marron Adobe.” The structure is the oldest house in Carlsbad, according to the San Diego-based Save Our Heritage Organisation.

Opponents said the development will forever change a green valley that was home to Carlsbad's settlers.

Carlsbad only needs 500 new homes to meet an April deadline on state mandated housing goals, but Mayor Matt Hall said the city opted for an extra 150 houses to help meet future deadlines.

The neighboring city of Oceanside will be left with most of the traffic headaches caused by the new homes, in spite of mitigation measures the developer will take.